'Who is Farooq Abdullah to say we don't need a Ram Temple,' asks JD(U) leader Pavan Varma

New Delhi: Hitting out at National Conference chairman Farooq Abdullah for belittling the Ram temple construction issue, senior Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader Pavan Varma on Sunday advised the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister not to give homilies to Hindus. [caption id=“attachment_4206143” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah. Reuters[/caption] Questioning Abdullah over his authority to decide on whether Hindus need a Ram temple, Varma said that the NC chairman should not draw parallel between the developmental issues of the country and the Ram temple  issue. “I would strongly advise Abdullah not to give homilies to Hindus. He had said that since god is in the hearts of the people, why build a temple, but that applies to all. What’s he trying to say? That because god is in your heart, you can’t build a temple? First he has equated any desire to have a temple for Ram as a neglect of other issues plaguing the country and has said that because of that, you don’t need a temple for Ram. Who is he to say that? It’s not an either-or situation,” Varma said. “People go as a matter of their faith to worship. Governments and people have to pursue a developmental agenda. No country has ever posited a situation of faith versus development. The proportion must be right, but we don’t want to hear this kind of advice from Abdullah,” the JD(U) leader added. On Saturday, Abdullah said that the central government is fooling the people of the country by ignoring the real issues of farmers, unemployment and Dalits and is fighting for the Ram temple. Speaking at an event in Delhi, Abdullah had said: “Today, look at secular democratic India. You’re not fighting for issues that matter to people. You’re fighting for Ram. Is Ram going to come from heaven and give farmers something better? Or will unemployment disappear in a day because Ram is coming? They are fooling people.”